“A Teacher Returning: Bronia HORN”
80 Years After Leaving Poland for Palestine, a Visit to her School in Busko-Zdrój

I am not her granddaughter, but I could have been.

Bronia HORN was my paternal grandmother’s aunt. There was only a 6-year age difference between Bronia and my grandmother. Bronia was born in 1904, my grandmother in 1910.

Both were born in Rohatyn, in what was then Eastern Galicia, today Western Ukraine. Both left Rohatyn. For my grandmother, the destination was New York in 1914 with her father Isak (almost 20 years older than younger sister Bronia), her mother, and her two sisters. For Bronia, it was Palestine in 1936, to join her older sister Jute who had emigrated there two years prior. Neither Bronia, Jute, or my grandmother would ever see there beloved Rohatyn again. Continue reading →

>>There is a photo in “Shtetl Under the Sun – The Ashkenazic Jewish Community
of Curaçao” of Lucca circa 1948 playing the accordion while three children
(one is my oldest sister) in sailors outfits are dancing. She told last year
that she was part of the community for three years after leaving Europe. I
never met the wonderful woman, but this image is how I will picture her always.

He has today (21 May) sent along the photo, and says: “Attached for inclusion on the website is a scan of the photo of Lucca Koch playing the accordion circa 1950 in Curaçao, at a celebration of Israel’s independence which appears on page 200 of “A Shtetl Under the Sun – The Ashkenazic Community of Curaçao” by Jeannette van Ditzhuijzen.” The children are Lily Bonaparte, Johnny Wachtel and Rita Wiznitzer.

if you click on the image below, you will get the ‘full sized’ photo which you can download